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Swifton Athletic Club
(Athletic club) (Football club) | dissolved = | ground = SG Stadium | capacity = 11,800 | owner = | chairman = | manager = Stevie Wardell | coach = | currentleague = League B | currentposition = | lastseason = | lastleaguea = League A | lastposition = 15th (relegated) | current = | website = | firstgame = | largestwin = | worstdefeat = | topscorer = | fansgroup = | honours = | American = }} The Swifton Athletic Club (officially shortened to Swifton Athletic) is a Gregorian sports club based in Swifton, on the territory's west coast. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which plays in League B, the second tier of the St. Gregory Football Association. After spending years as an amateur club, Swifton Athletic's football team were invited to the professional ranks in 1985. They have spent much of their history as a yo-yo club, having been relegated from League A more times than any other club. Their greatest success came in 2004 when they defeated Holland County to win the SGFA Cup. They have a fierce local rivalry with Union Town, known as the Swifton-Union derby. History The Swifton Athletic Club formed in 1965 but did not sponsor a football team until 1983, when they entered the amateur League of Southern St. Gregory under the name Swifton Athletic Football. After two seasons in the LSSG, Athletic were one of six teams admitted to the SGFA as part of its first mass expansion, joining the newly-formed League B for the 1985-86 season. With a roster mostly intact from their two amateur seasons, and thus having jelled better than the other League B upstarts, Athletic (having dropped the "Football" from their name) found instant success in their first professional season. They were crowned league champions with two matches remaining, earning promotion to League A for 1986-87. The step up to top-flight football proved too much for the young Athletic squad, however; they finished the season bottom of the table and were relegated back to League B, but were once again champions of the second division in 1987-88, and thus hold the distinction of being the only club in St. Gregory to win two championships in their first two seasons in a league. Athletic won the 2004 SGFA Cup Final to claim their first top-flight trophy. 2015-16 saw Athletic reach both the promotion playoff final – in which they defeated Union Town on penalties to earn promotion to League A – and, three days later, the 2016 SGFA Cup Final which they lost 4-1 to Bonneville United. The team plays its home matches at the 11,800-seat SG Stadium, a multi-use facility which is also used by other sporting arms of the club. Colors, crest and nickname The club's official colors are Athletic Orange and Royal Purple. The club is referred to simply as Athletic by fans and media and has no other official nickname. Kits Originally, the team played in purple and orange striped shirts. While distinctive, these created a clash with many other clubs and Athletic spent virtually half their early years wearing white away kits as a result. Purple was finally dropped from the home kits in 2000 and they have remained orange and white since then. Athletic's uniforms are currently supplied by Nike. The shirt sponsor is Swifton Glass, who also hold naming rights to their stadium. Rivalries :See also: Swifton-Union derby Athletic share reciprocal rivalries with the other five expansion clubs who also joined the SGFA in 1985: CGC Red Stars, Crusaders, Don Bosco, Starrs County and Union Town. Of these, Union Town is the closest geographically (Swifton and Union are roughly 30 miles apart) and considered the most fierce by fans. Historically, Starrs County have been Athletic's most competitive rivalry as the clubs have spent the longest in League B together. Athletic fans also consider Holland County to be rivals, as both teams are based in that county, both play in orange and support among the Dutch population of northwest St. Gregory is evenly split between the two clubs. Players Current squad : As of August 14, 2019 Note: Players without a flag are from St. Gregory. Players with an asterisk (*) are from outside the United States or its territories, or have represented a non-U.S. territory at international level, but hold either citizenship or permanent residency in the U.S. and thus do not count towards the league cap on foreign players. Out on loan Former players :Further information: Category:Swifton Athletic Club players Managerial history :Further information: Category:Zane Hills F.C. managers Honors * League B :*'Playoff winners (1)': 2015-16 * SGFA Cup :*'Winners (1)': 2003-04 Category:Swifton Athletic Club Category:Club pages